The Mtn. View City Council met in special session early this month to discuss the possible transfer of ownership of a Colt .38 caliber pistol that has been displayed on a wall in city hall since 2004.
Mayor John Krasuski told aldermen June 7 that a woman named Ella Eddings had spoken to him earlier in the week about the 1902 Colt pistol that had been donated to the city in memory of the late Police Chief Pete Thompson and Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Ray Eddings.
“I have visited with Ella Eddings, and she has presented me with a letter, they are petitioning us to take possession of [the pistol], and they have ownership of it,” Krasuski explained to the council. “According to the letter and the past history, I know, it has been retained, and it has been given to the city to take care of indefinitely and perpetually.”
Krasuski then read to council members the Oct. 13, 2004, memorandum of understanding between then-Mayor Dale Stevenson and donor William Anderson. The memo begins with a declaration of Anderson’s gift to the city of Mtn. View in honor of “two outstanding and fearless police officers,” Thompson and Sgt. Eddings, and articulates a promise made by Mayor Stevenson.
“Mayor Stevenson promises that the pistol will be displayed in the Mtn. View City Hall or the police station, wherever he or successor mayors deem most suitable,” the memorandum reads. “He further promises that the city will take due care to prevent this pistol from being stolen or converted to private use.
“It is further promised that if the city deems it necessary to remove the pistol or it is undesirable to display the memorial, the pistol and the case will become the property of Richard Eddings or his oldest living heir. In the event that Mtn. View has a museum, the pistol will be displayed there.”
Raymond Eddings, son of Ella Eddings, then addressed Krasuski and the council.
He told council members that his dad died about four years ago, and his mother had gone through his father’s things and found the family’s copy of the memorandum of understanding.
“We wanted to have something to remember grandpa by,” he told the council. “I know my mom has talked to the commanding officer of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Mr. Fiske, and he thought we should have it too, but that is why we were coming here to see if we could get it and pass it along in our family, because I am naming my son after my grandpa.”
Krasuski then opened the meeting to hear council members’ opinions about whether the city should keep the pistol in its possession.
“You know what the letter is saying: It is in secured custody, and it is for all the public to see, and it is good if we have it in a museum. We are working on a museum coming up; the historical society is working on that, so I wanted you guys to decide what you think about it,” Krasuki told council members.
Alderwoman Laura Wagner said she believed the pistol should remain with the city because that was the initial wish expressed by the donor in the memo.
“I am not saying that is the case with this particular family member, but I have seen way too many times it's turned around and sold for profit,” she said.
Alderman Lindell Vandevort said if the council set a precedent of giving something back to the family that was donated to the city, the council would have to follow that same precedent in the future.
“If we set that precedent, we have several buildings and land that have been donated to the city by private individuals,” he noted. “If they would come and we set precedent in this present situation, and they want their land or their building back, legally we set precedent here.”
“Plus, in the past, I think we talked about it,” Vandevort added. “If we transfer this gun back to you and something happens, legally, I don’t know where we stand, but legally if it got into the wrong person’s hands, and they shot someone or killed somebody, where it was donated to the city, are we liable for giving that gun back?”
After further discussion, the council voted to keep the pistol in the city’s possession since council members agreed it was the intention when it was donated to the city of Mtn. View in 2004.
